switched on a memoir of brain change and emotional awakening

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An extraordinary memoir about the cutting-edge brain therapy that dramatically changed the life and mind of John Elder Robison, the New York Times bestselling author of Look Me in the Eye NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST Imagine spending the first forty years of your life in darkness, blind to the emotions and social signals of other people. Then imagine that someone suddenly switches the lights on. It has long been assumed that people living with autism are born with the diminished ability to read the emotions of others, even as they feel emotion deeply. But what if we’ve been wrong all this time? What if that “missing” emotional insight was there all along, locked away and inaccessible in the mind? In 2007 John Elder Robison wrote the international bestseller Look Me in the Eye, a memoir about growing up with Asperger’s syndrome. Amid the blaze of publicity that followed, he received a unique invitation: Would John like to take part in a study led by one of the world’s foremost neuroscientists, who would use an experimental new brain therapy known as TMS, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, in an effort to understand and then address the issues at the heart of autism? Switched On is the extraordinary story of what happened next. Having spent forty years as a social outcast, misreading others’ emotions or missing them completely, John is suddenly able to sense a powerful range of feelings in other people. However, this newfound insight brings unforeseen problems and serious questions. As the emotional ground shifts beneath his feet, John struggles with the very real possibility that choosing to diminish his disability might also mean sacrificing his unique gifts and even some of his closest relationships. Switched On is a real-life Flowers for Algernon, a fascinating and intimate window into what it means to be neurologically different, and what happens when the world as you know it is upended overnight. Praise for Switched On “An eye-opening book with a radical message . . . The transformations [Robison] undergoes throughout the book are astonishing—as foreign and overwhelming as if he woke up one morning with the visual range of a bee or the auditory prowess of a bat.”—The New York Times “Astonishing, brave . . . reads like a medical thriller and keeps you wondering what will happen next . . . [Robison] takes readers for a ride through the thorny thickets of neuroscience and leaves us wanting more.”—The Washington Post “Fascinating for its insights into Asperger’s and research, this engrossing record will make readers reexamine their preconceptions about this syndrome and the future of brain manipulation.”—Booklist “Like books by Andrew Solomon and Oliver Sacks, Switched On offers an opportunity to consider mental processes through a combination of powerful narrative and informative medical context.”—BookPage “A mind-blowing book that will force you to ask deep questions about what is important in life. Would normalizing the brains of those who think differently reduce their motivation for great achievement?”—Temple Grandin, author of The Autistic Brain “At the heart of Switched On are fundamental questions of who we are, of where our identity resides, of difference and disability and free will, which are brought into sharp focus by Robison’s lived experience.”—Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Effect

‘For the first time in my life, I learned what it was like to truly "know" other people's feelings. It was as if I'd been experiencing the world in black and white all my life, and suddenly I could see everything — and particularly other people — in brilliant beautiful colour.’ People with autism have trouble reading the unspoken signals of others. The conventional wisdom says they don't have the wiring in their brains to do it. But now, thanks to astounding advances in brain-mapping technologies, a revolutionary new brain therapy called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is being pioneered at Harvard Medical School. In Switched On, we follow New York Times bestselling author and ‘free-range Aspergian’ John Elder Robison as he journeys towards having his emotional intelligence ’unlocked‘ by this remarkable new treatment. Led by Harvard professor Dr Pascual-Leone, TMS uses an electromagnetic field to induce signals in the outer layer of the brain, to help autistic people develop the ability to read other people's unspoken emotional cues. Astonishingly, TMS represents a new frontier of scientific possibility for people with autism spectrum disorders, as well as those living with depression, bi-polar disorder, and other conditions. John Robison’s story of how he came to awaken the dormant pathways inside his mind is remarkably compelling and entirely unique, but this is also a book about the remarkable advances in the way we view, and treat, a variety of psychological conditions. Switched On is a real-life Flowers for Algernon with a happy ending — a compelling memoir that blends Robison’s brilliant storytelling and humour with cutting-edge neuroscience, electronics, and a little bit of rock and roll. PRAISE FOR JOHN ELDER ROBINSON ‘Writing with a simple eloquence that is, by turns, poignant and comic, Robison deftly weaves neuroscience into a compelling narrative.’ The Sydney Morning Herald ‘Robison’s approachable account is not only crystal clear, but exciting and full of promise.’ The Listener

“For the first time in my life, I learned what it was really like to truly “know” other people’s feelings. At a stroke I went from oblivious to insightful, and my life was forever changed. It was as if I’d been experiencing the world in black and white all my life, and suddenly I could see everything – and particularly other people – in brilliant beautiful color.” Six years ago, John Elder Robison published Look Me In the Eye, his memoir about growing up with Asperger’s. Now he tells the remarkable story of how he met Dr Alvaro Pascual-Leone, a Harvard neuroscientist who proposed that John’s emotional intelligence wasn’t so much absent as it was dormant, and that by animating the appropriate neural pathways with powerful electromagnets he might be able to awaken this part of his brain. So began a five-and-a-half year journey in which John gave himself up as a guinea pig to some of the world’s top brain researchers in an effort to understand and fix the deficits of emotional intelligence that lie at the heart of autism. John experiences the benefits and pitfalls, the joy and melancholy, of being able to feel in response to things that happen to him and his loved ones. A real-life Flowers For Algernon with a happy ending, Switched On goes on the trail of the revolutionary science that has the potential to transform millions of emotionally circumscribed lives.

Switched On by John Elder Robison | Summary & Analysis Preview: Switched On: A Memoir of Brain Change and Emotional Awakening by John Elder Robison, a man with Asperger’s syndrome, describes the emotional awakening John underwent after his experience with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a highly experimental procedure that zaps the brain with electricity. Much of his story focuses on a life-changing study he joined in 2008. John details the neuroscience he learned and provides a thorough analysis of the positive and negative effects that TMS has had on his life and, to a lesser degree, the lives of his fellow participants, all of whom had autism. Having written several other memoirs about his family life, John acknowledges that he had a difficult childhood without delving into great detail. He always understood that he was different, but his official diagnosis did not come until he was the age of 40. Switched On, in part, revisits his childhood and young adulthood from the vantage of a middle-aged man… PLEASE NOTE: This is summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book. Inside this Instaread Summary of: Switched On Summary of the Book Important People Character Analysis Analysis of the Themes and Author’s Style About the Author With Instaread, you can get the key takeaways, summary and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

The slyly funny, sweetly moving memoir of an unconventional dad’s relationship with his equally offbeat son—complete with fast cars, tall tales, homemade explosives, and a whole lot of fun and trouble John Robison was not your typical dad. Diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at the age of forty, he approached fatherhood as a series of logic puzzles and practical jokes. Instead of a speech about the birds and the bees, he told his son, Cubby, that he'd bought him at the Kid Store—and that the salesman had cheated him by promising Cubby would “do all chores.” While other parents played catch with their kids, John taught Cubby to drive the family's antique Rolls-Royce. Still, Cubby seemed to be turning out pretty well, at least until school authorities decided that he was dumb and stubborn—the very same thing John had been told as a child. Did Cubby have Asperger’s too? The answer was unclear. One thing was clear, though: By the time he turned seventeen, Cubby had become a brilliant and curious chemist—smart enough to make military-grade explosives and bring federal agents calling. With Cubby facing a felony trial—and up to sixty years in prison—both father and son were forced to take stock of their lives, finally accepting that being “on the spectrum” is both a challenge and a unique gift.

'... as heartfelt a memoir as one could find, utterly unspoiled, uninfluenced, and original.' - Augusten Burroughs A New York Times and Australian bestseller, Look Me In The Eye tells of a child's heartbreaking desperation to connect with others, and his struggle to pass as 'normal' -- a struggle that would continue into adulthood. By the time he was a teenager, John Elder Robison's odd habits -- such as a tendency to obsessively dismantle radios and dig five-foot holes (and stick his little brother in them) -- had earned him the label 'social deviant'. No guidance came from his mother, who conversed with light fixtures, or his father, who spent the evenings drinking. Small wonder Robison gravitated to machines, which could, at least, be counted on. It was not until he was forty that an insightful therapist told Robison he had the form of autism called Asperger's syndrome, transforming the way Robison saw himself -- and the world. Look Me In The Eye is Robison's moving and blackly funny story of growing up with Asperger's syndrome at a time when the diagnosis didn't even exist. A born storyteller, Robison takes us inside the head of a boy whom teachers and other adults regarded as defective and who still has a peculiar aversion to using people's given names (he calls his wife Unit Two). He also provides a fascinating angle on the younger brother he left at the mercy of their nutty parents -- the boy who would grow up to write Running with Scissors. Above all, you'll marvel at the way Robison overcame the restrictions of Asperger's to gain the connection he always craved: as a husband and father.

In Be Different, New York Times bestselling author of Look Me in the Eye shares a new batch of endearing stories about his childhood, adolescence, and young adult years, giving the reader a rare window into the Autistic mind. In his bestselling memoir, Look Me in the Eye, John Elder Robison described growing up with Autism Spectrum Disorder at a time when the diagnosis didn’t exist. He was intelligent but socially isolated; his talents won him jobs with toy makers and rock bands but did little to endear him to authority figures and classmates, who were put off by his inclination to blurt out non sequiturs and avoid eye contact. By the time he was diagnosed at age forty, John had already developed a myriad of coping strategies that helped him achieve a seemingly normal, even highly successful, life. In each story, he offers practical advice for anyone who feels “different” on how to improve the weak communication and social skills that keep so many people from taking full advantage of their often remarkable gifts. With his trademark honesty and unapologetic eccentricity, Robison addresses questions like: • How to read others and follow their behaviors when in uncertain social situations • Why manners matter • How to harness your powers of concentration to master difficult skills • How to deal with bullies • When to make an effort to fit in, and when to embrace eccentricity • How to identify special gifts and use them to your advantage Every person has something unique to offer the world, and every person has the capacity to create strong, loving bonds with their friends and family. Be Different will help readers and those they love find their path to success.

A real-life, can’t-put-down spy memoir. The CIA is looking for walking contradictions. Recruiters seek out potential agents who can keep a secret yet pull classified information out of others; who love their country but are willing to leave it behind for dangerous places; who live double lives, but can be trusted with some of the nation’s most highly sensitive tasks. Michele Rigby Assad was one of those people. As a CIA agent and a counterterrorism expert, Michele soon found that working undercover was an all-encompassing job. The threats were real; the assignments perilous. Michele spent over a decade in the agency—a woman leading some of the most highly skilled operatives on the planet, secretly serving in some of the most treacherous areas of the Middle East, and at risk as a target for ISIS. But deep inside, Michele wondered: Could she really do this job? Had she misunderstood what she thought was God’s calling on her life? Did she have what it would take to survive? The answer came when Michele faced her ultimate mission, one with others’ lives on the line—and it turned out to have been the plan for her all along. In Breaking Cover, Michele has at last been cleared to drop cover and tell her story: one of life-or-death stakes; of defeating incredible odds; and most of all, of discovering a faith greater than all her fears.

In January 1988, aged twelve, Martin Pistorius fell inexplicably sick. First he lost his voice and stopped eating; then he slept constantly and shunned human contact. Doctors were mystified. Within eighteen months he was mute and wheelchair-bound. Martin's parents were told that an unknown degenerative disease had left him with the mind of a baby and he probably had less than two years to live. Martin went on to be cared for at centres for severely disabled children, a shell of the bright, vivacious boy he had once been. What no-one knew is that while Martin's body remained unresponsive his mind slowly woke up, yet he could tell no-one; he was a prisoner inside a broken body. Then, in 1998, when Martin was twenty-three years old, an aromatherapy masseuse began treating him and sensed some part of him was alert. Experts were dismissive, but his parents persevered and soon realised their son was as intelligent as he'd always been. With no memory of the time before his illness, Martin was a man-child reborn in a world he didn't know. He was still in a wheelchair and unable to speak, but he was brilliantly adept at computer technology. Since then, and against all odds, he has fallen in love, married and set up a design business which he runs from his home in Essex.Ghost Boyis an incredible, deeply moving story of recovery and the power of love. Through Martin's story we can know what it is like to be here and yet not here - unable to communicate yet feeling and understanding everything. Martin's emergence from his darkness enables us to celebrate the human spirit and is a wake-up call to cherish our own lives.

A Summer/Fall 2016 Indies Introduce selection An asteroid is hurtling toward Earth. A big, bad one. Maybe not kill-all-the-dinosaurs bad, but at least kill-everyone-in-California-and-wipe-out-Japan-with-a-tsunami bad. Yuri, a physicist prodigy from Russia, has been recruited to aid NASA as they calculate a plan to avoid disaster. The good news is Yuri knows how to stop the asteroid--his research in antimatter will probably win him a Nobel prize if there's ever another Nobel prize awarded. But the trouble is, even though NASA asked for his help, no one there will listen to him. He's seventeen, and they've been studying physics longer than he's been alive. Then he meets (pretty, wild, unpredictable) Dovie, who lives like a normal teenager, oblivious to the impending doom. Being with her, on the adventures she plans when he's not at NASA, Yuri catches a glimpse of what it means to save the world and live a life worth saving. Prepare to laugh, cry, cringe, and have your mind burst open with the questions of the universe.